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Home , Agriculture in Taiwan, Mechanization

EAEF 2(4) : 124-131, 2009 Review Paper

The Role of Agricultural Mechanization in the Modernization of Asian Agriculture: ’s Experience

Fu-Ming LU*1, *2

Abstract

The demand for mechanization and in the agricultural field is a response to the demand for high quality products and sophisticated production techniques in countries with high labor costs. Taiwan started its ten-year mechanization program in 1960 through the introduction of power tillers. Additional measures such as the introduction of field and post-harvest drying mechanization, agricultural automation, and precision agriculture were promoted during the past thirty years. Over this period, Taiwan has become a highly mechanized country in rice production. The local small and medium-sized farm machinery industrial sector is characterized by low volume sales of a great variety of farm machinery. Although government policies help to fulfill domestic demand for farm machinery, the local agricultural machinery industry is at a disadvantage as it faces global competition in the new millennium.

[Keywords] Agriculture, Mechanization, Automation, Precision agriculture, Taiwan

usually grown within one year in Taiwan. The total area was 327,552 ha but the actual planted area of paddy I Introduction fields totaled 272,124 ha in 2003, of which 161,184 ha were Taiwan is a subtropical island characterized by high of the first crop and the remaining 110,940 ha of the second temperatures and heavy rainfalls. There are typhoons in the crop. In 2007, the total paddy field area was 422,177 ha with summer and autumn. The island measures 370 km long and a total planted paddy field area of 260,116 ha, of which 142 km wide at its widest point, with a total area of about 155,459 ha were of first crop and the remaining 104,657 ha 36,000 square kilometers (3,600,000 ha). Seventy-three of the second crop. The total planted paddy area has percent of land in Taiwan is either mountainous or hilly. In decreased annually at a rate of 10,800 ha (or 56,000 metric 2008, the amount of land available for crop and tons of production) during the past years due to the production was limited to some 822,000 ha, which is about implementation of a fallow land policy. 22.84% of the total area of Taiwan (table 1). The average Taiwan’s agricultural development has been recognized as farmland is about one hectare in Taiwan. There is a a positive model throughout the world, especially for combination of both temperate and tropical climatic small-scale farming economies. Without the contribution from the agriculture sector, Taiwan’s economic miracle may conditions as one moves north to south through the Tropic of not have happened. Chen (2001) concluded that institutional Cancer, or as one moves along the steep elevation gradient factors and relevant investments contributed the most to from the coast to the top of the Central Mountain Range. successful agricultural development in Taiwan. Major factors Typhoons frequently visit the island during the summer and included (1) the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural autumn seasons, and torrential rains and earthquakes are Reconstruction (JCRR), (2) land reform, (3) farmers' common occurrences. The average temperature is 22 oC in the organizations, (4) technical research institutions, (5) north and 24.5 oC in the south. Summer runs from May to supporting extension services and (6) rural infrastructure. October, and a mild winter runs from December to February. Taiwan has experienced dramatic changes in its Rainfall is abundant, averaging 2,500 millimeters annually. agricultural sector over the past forty years. To overcome a Rice is a staple food with unique economic and political farm labor shortage, the promotion of agricultural significance in Taiwan. Taiwan’s rice production is more mechanization started in 1970 with significant cooperative than enough for domestic consumption. Two rice crops are

*1 CIAM & JSAM Member, Professor, Department of Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National Taiwan University. No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, , Taiwan 106. Email: [email protected] *2 Director of Taiwan Agricultural Mechanization Research & Development Center, Fl. 9-6,No.391, Sec. 4, Shin-Yi Road, Taipei, Taiwan 110.

125 LU : The Role of Agricultural Mechanization in the Modernization of Asian Agriculture: Taiwan’s Experience efforts from government, industry, and universities. Subsidies A ten-year program for introducing the utilization of power and price supports for farm machinery have been tillers was inaugurated in 1960. During this initial stage of implemented successfully since then. Within the past few mechanization (1960-1970), power tillers replaced animal years, Taiwan has become a highly mechanized country in power and mechanical threshers did that had rice production in conjunction with improvements in land traditionally been done by hand (Fuh, 2003). Another preparation, seedling nursing, transplanting, spraying, four-year accelerated mechanization program (1970-1973) harvesting, and drying. and an intensive program for rice drying mechanization Agricultural modernization in Taiwan is progressing (1975-1978) were successfully implemented to further smoothly with the successful implementation of agricultural increase the degree of mechanization in Taiwan. More mechanization. The modernization of agriculture can be advanced were adopted during this second stage of defined as applying up-to-date to agricultural mechanization. These included machines such as transplanters production. Mechanization, automation and emerging that were incorporated with seedling nursery systems, rice technologies are the key factors in modernizing agricultural combines operated by custom hiring services which directly production. The objective of this paper is to report on the took orders by phone, and rice drying centers at most farmer’s development of mechanization and automation of agricultural associations which were well prepared for providing drying production in Taiwan. services for rice growers. In addition to these programs, the Agricultural Development Act passed by The Legislative II Development of Agricultural Machinery Yuan on September 3, 1973 stipulates that the price of To mechanize means the application of machines to crop electricity, gasoline, and water for powering agricultural production in field operations or in post-harvest processing. operations shall not be higher than that of prices for general Human and animal power, as well as mechanical and industrial purposes. Tax exemption coupons for farm fuels power have played important roles in agricultural have been in use since then. mechanization. Power machinery, for example, a During the years 1979-1982, funds amounting to US$ 121 which multiplies human power a thousand times (from 0.07 million were released for subsidies, loans, training, custom kw to 70 kw), can increase yields several hundred times over farming, and research to promote farm mechanization. In what a farmer can produce manually. Agricultural machinery 2000, The Agricultural Development Fund of Council of has progressed from the utilization of hand-tools to Agriculture (COA) provided US$ 64 million for purchasing automation . This evolution can be divided into the 2,143 units of agricultural machinery for farm mechanization. following stages (Rijk, 1999). Due to a shortage of funds and financial resources, recent 1. Improved hand-tool technology policy dictates that only new machinery are eligible for 2. Draft animal power subsidies (amounting to US$2.2 millions annually). One side 3. Stationary power substitution effect of this policy is that that it discourages further 4. Motive power substitution investment and thus development of the local agricultural 5. Human-control substitution machinery industry. In fiscal year 2005, 6. Adaptation of cropping practices farmers purchased 1,283 sets of machines selected from 30 7. Farming-system adaptation types (41 models) of newly developed machines, with 8. Plant adaptation government subsidies of 30-40% of the purchase price. Loans 9. Automation of agricultural production of up to US$ 50 million were given to assist farmers in Due to the development of agricultural business, the scope purchasing 896 sets of automated systems. The farm of research and manufacturing in agricultural machinery has machinery sold or used in Taiwan has decreased annually due expanded from field machinery to pollution control machinery, to a fallowing policy for paddy fields. The total farm aquacultural machinery, and bio-industrial machinery. The machinery used in 2008 amounted to 33,379 units for power application of Geographical Information System (GIS) and tillers, 15,444 units for , 7,998 units for six-row rice Global Positioning System (GPS) have opened a frontier for transplanters, and 7,190 units for rice combines as shown in automatic machinery used in precision agriculture. The table 2 (COA, 2009). technologies adopted in various stages of the development of There are about twenty-five regulations or guidelines for agricultural machinery are illustrated in figure 1 (Lu, 2000). promoting farm mechanization, covering, among others, the III Taiwan’s Mechanization-Traditional use of loans, subsidies, licenses, machine performance tests, machine importation, exhibitions, Development

126 Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food Vol. 2, No. 4 (2009) community extension programs, and technology transfers. In The related technology-chain adopted in automated crop 2007 the labor input per hectare for the highly mechanized production in Taiwan is illustrated in figure 2. Cross paddy production sector was 121 hour/ha as compared to relationships among elements in each chain have great labor inputs of 271 hour/ha and 660 hour/ha respectively for influence on the successful implementation of agricultural the less mechanized peanut and production sectors. automation. High horsepower tractors are currently replacing lower ones. In 1991-1999, total COA funds for automated agricultural Highly efficient labor saving farm machinery, such as riding programs amounted to US$ 80.85 million (Lee, 2000). Fund types which replace walking types, and multiple row types allocation for automated crop production, , livestock which supplant those with fewer rows for combine harvesting production, and agri-business services were US$ 33.45 dominate the market. The above phenomena reveal the further million (41%), US$ 12.51 million (15%), US$ 13.60 million modernization of agricultural production through the efficient (17%), and US $21.29 million (26%), respectively. promotion of mechanization in Taiwan. The Ministry of Education has invited many IV Taiwan’s Mechanization-Automation automation-related experts to set up and execute a ten-year education program in conjunction with the promotion of Development automated agricultural projects initiated by the . The targets of this education program are as Automation in agriculture can best be introduced by an follows (Sheng, 2000): optimized combination of computer-controlled technologies I. To subsidize training facilities and equipment and mechanized agricultural production. The ten-year II. To set up technical centers for automated taskforce for promoting agricultural automation in crops, agriculture fisheries, livestock production, and services was initiated in III. To develop local textbooks, training materials, and 1991 in Taiwan. Their aim was to use economic, social, and teaching tools environmental factors to increase farmers’ income; to develop IV. To educate teachers of vocational high schools special agricultural zones; to fully utilize land and water V. To promulgate achievements in automation resources; to solve the manpower shortage and the aging After ten years of implementing the agricultural automation problem in the villages; to provide nutritious, sanitary and program in Taiwan, some positive effects and satisfactory fresh high-quality agricultural products; to improve shipping results have been recognized by both the agricultural industry and distribution system services for agricultural products; to and local administrative bureaus. To usher in an agricultural improve the working environment and increase farming knowledge economy, the COA has implemented both safety; to handle farm waste disposal and minimize automation and computerization in agriculture, fisheries, and environmental pollution; and to increase the effective use of animal husbandry through eight agricultural technology energy resources (Lee 1997, Fon 1998, Lu 2001). programs in 2005. Automation techniques have increasingly been applied to agricultural sectors. Automated crop production focuses on V Taiwan’s Mechanization-Emerging several areas such as pesticide application, post-harvest Technology Development processing, seedling production, planting and Precision agriculture has been introduced by using satellite transplanting, greenhouse engineering, and field machinery. positioning systems and geographical information for farm Vegetable and production in plant systems management. Farmers, using ample data can easily determine equipped with modern facilities have proven successful in the most productive fields for farming and the best suited increasing microclimatic control and production efficiency, machinery to be used. Although the average farmland in thereby providing economic benefits. Taiwan is about one hectare, in response to former President Besides improvements in hardware, farming operations can Lee Teng-Hui’s encouraging speech at the National also benefit from greater use of information technology. Agricultural Meeting, a preliminary study was initiated by E-farmer, which promotes the sale of farm products on the National Taiwan University in 1998 by inviting engineers and internet, is one of these new resources. Many networking scientists in related fields to investigate the feasibility of platforms now sell high quality products, such as packed rice, applying precision agricultural systems in Taiwan (Lu 2003). processed foods, and fish goods over the internet. All of these A policy of adopting further study of precision agriculture new technologies add another dimension to Taiwan’s was then recommended in 1999. agricultural modernization efforts. In 1999, The Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)

127 LU : The Role of Agricultural Mechanization in the Modernization of Asian Agriculture: Taiwan’s Experience initiated a pilot project for using precision farming systems . Studies on precision spraying systems for rice crops. Three multi-disciplinary research teams have for boom sprayers, software integration of a GPS/GIS system been organized for the purposes of developing techniques for agricultural applications, near infrared measurements of required for monitoring the growth status and environmental rice canopy, and yield monitoring systems for rice crop conditions of rice crops; integrating the elements necessary production in Taiwan were conducted successfully. Recently, for fertilization recommendation and pest management nondestructive means and RFID have also been utilized in systems; and developing machinery for yield monitoring and evaluating and monitoring the quality of agricultural products mapping systems, field-based remote sensing systems, in Taiwan. variable-rate pesticide spraying systems, and variable-rate References fertilizing systems. More than fifty researchers have been Chen, H. H. 2001. Transforming Taiwan's agriculture in the 21st engaged in the US$ 3.5 million funded precision agriculture century - Challenges, Strategies and Visions. Lecture note: project between 1999-2003. Sponsored by C.C.K. Exchange Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan. To obtain an efficient precision agriculture management COA. 2000. Project for promoting automated agriculture and system, the experimental requirements include setting up a e-commerce. Council of Agriculture, R.O.C. GPS system, a field crop image data base file, a field GIS COA. 2009. Agricultural statistics year book. Council of Agriculture, data-base file and an image processing system. In addition Executive Yuan, Taiwan. satellite-based and aircraft-based photos, visible and NIR Fon, D. S. 1998. Evaluation of agricultural automation in the crops, spectra related to growth diagnosis of rice crops will be fisheries, livestock production and service. Council of Agriculture, collected and analyzed in the future for predicting crop R.O.C. maturation and yield. Future goals include improving Fuh, J. S. 2003. Development of agricultural machinery in Taiwan. accuracy in diagnosing large-scale field crops during the Speech at Taiwan Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers growing season through the utilization of satellite-based and Association, Taipei, Taiwan. remote sensing techniques and NIR spectrum studies and Lee, C.S. 2000. Evaluation of automated agriculture and e-commerce implementing precision agricultural systems in Taiwan to projects. Department of Agricultural Economics, National improve the efficiency of crop production management. Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan. Nondestructive evaluation of agricultural products have Lee, K. W. 1997. Agricultural mechanization and automation in the been introduced in recent years, including the adoption of Republic of on Taiwan. In Proc. International Symposium such suitable techniques as NIR, acoustics and image on Agricultural Mechanization and Automation, eds. S. M. Chen processing for sorting and inspecting of local fruits, meats, and C.Y. Chou, volume 1, 31-49. Taipei, Taiwan: National Taiwan eggs, and feed. The RFID is also applied in some crop University. production systems in line with The Agricultural Production Lu, F. M. 2000. Automated crop production for the 21st century. and Certification Act which was passed on January 29th, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering 1(1):59-62. 2007. Lu, F. M. 2001. Automation and precision agriculture. J. Rural VI Conclusions Development 34(1):19-36. Taiwan started its ten-year mechanization program in 1960 Lu, F. M. 2003. Precision agriculture development in Taiwan. The through the introduction of power tillers. Traditional field CIGR e-Journal of Scientific Research and Development. Vol. operations on farms have improved during the past thirty V.-15.: Invited Overview Articles. years. New machines have been developed under the Rijk, A. G. 1999. Agricultural mechanization strategy. In CIGR mechanization and automation projects and have effectively Handbook of Agricultural Engineering: Plant Production been used for cultivation, transplanting, fertilizer application, Engineering, ed. B. A. Stout, 536-553. St. Joseph MI: ASAE. harvesting, cleaning, sorting, drying, and packaging in the rice Sheng, C. T. 2000. Present situation and perspective of educating production process. The taskforce for promoting agricultural human resource for agricultural automation development in automation in crops, fisheries, livestock production, and Taiwan. In: Proceedings of Agriculture of the New Century: related services was created in 1991 in Taiwan. After ten years Managing Bio-Resources and Bio-diversity, ed. W. S. Wu, p75-79. of activity some positive effects and satisfactory results have College of Agriculture, National Taiwan University. been recognized by both the agricultural industry and local (Received : 29. September. 2009, Accepted : 29. September. administrative bureaus. Beginning in 1998, an integrated 2009) project was initiated to study the implementation of precision

128 Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food Vol. 2, No. 4 (2009)

Table 1 Cultivated land area (ha) in Taiwan (COA, 2009) Paddy field Cultivated Single Upland Year Grand Total Double Land Total Cropped Field Cropped Rate % 1st Crop 2nd Crop 1994 872307 461226 329227 16194 115805 411081 24.23 1995 873378 459335 329106 14262 115967 414043 24.26 1996 872159 456167 328134 13697 114337 415992 24.23 1997 864817 454865 324867 9640 120358 409952 24.02 1998 858756 450616 322973 8219 119424 408139 23.85 1999 855073 444456 321139 7089 116228 410616 23.75 2000 851495 442005 317495 7104 117406 409489 23.65 2001 848743 438974 315544 7239 116191 409769 23.57 2002 847334 435369 314116 10220 111033 411965 23.53 2003 844097 432949 319021 10933 102995 411148 23.44 2004 835507 427592 328713 12809 86070 407915 23.20 2005 833176 425667 328836 15227 81604 407510 23.14 2006 829527 423721 328473 16484 78764 405806 23.04 2007 825947 422177 327552 18643 75982 403769 22.94 2008 822364 420580 327728 15378 77473 401784 22.84

129 LU : The Role of Agricultural Mechanization in the Modernization of Asian Agriculture: Taiwan’s Experience

97 211 211 176 190 209 248 182 207 102 103 Thresher Thresher Sorghum

2452 2452 2685 2531 2005 1967 1761 1721 1292 1242 1052 Corn Thresher Thresher Rice 9768 9768 9526 8974 8401 9422 8030 7190 11138 11138 13117 13117 11728 10121 10121 13304 13304 13443 12678 14076 Combine 98167 98167 94084 90531 90635 83822 Pump Water Water 113708 113708 110502 113925 108404 108404 104359 108265 103920 102317 105533 102167 High 24491 24491 25855 22841 25312 24694 24878 26745 26874 26364 26713 29422 25260 25671 26419 25784 Power Quality Sprayer 62608 62608 67809 67394 71067 69681 79565 78482 79788 84140 85725 79329 82622 78674 76043 73587 Power Sprayer Grass Grass 36071 41502 42177 44574 43443 48804 48295 46945 50919 50434 49373 48570 48864 47353 47225 Power Cutter Field 31101 31101 28003 28003 29673 29476 33031 29513 33317 39040 34493 35056 42839 33879 33853 33250 32029 Power Cultivator Cultivator For Paddy For Six Row 7239 7239 8230 8362 8402 9659 9363 9693 9583 9000 8775 7998 Type 10454 10454 10541 10218 10487 Table 2 Table (COA, 2009) Taiwan in used machinery of farm Units Row 9713 9713 9472 7639 7192 6918 6575 5432 Type Four 11807 11807 11489 14308 14308 14313 13949 13729 12186 10551 Power Rice Transplanter Transplanter Rice Power Two Row 8747 8747 8451 3906 5954 5393 5239 4250 4285 4332 3598 2713 3256 2333 1736 Type 10168 10168 13311 13311 12565 12565 13352 13438 14066 14290 14592 14288 14357 14857 14738 15043 15778 15624 15444 Tractor Tiller Tiller 76084 76084 72410 71427 67540 58314 58675 55901 53988 50495 49864 46547 44321 42770 40997 33379 Power Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

130 Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food Vol. 2, No. 4 (2009)

Electronic Engineering Electronic Engineering Automation, Computer and Robotic Robotic and Computer Automation, Engineering Electrical Biology Biology Meteorology, Chemistry and Microbiology Meteorology, Physics, Mechanics Micro-machine and Bio-machine

Precision

Agriculture

Technology Required Required Technology Bio-industrial

Machinery

Aquacultural

Machinery

Environment and Pollution Control Machinery

Motive Power

Machinery

Hand Tool

Year

Fig. 1 Evolution of agricultural machinery (Lu, 2000)

131 LU : The Role of Agricultural Mechanization in the Modernization of Asian Agriculture: Taiwan’s Experience

electronic machinery electric industry information industry chemical industry industry industry

motor sensor database engine plastic

controller I.C. expert pump regenerate

system material

relay interface hardware plastic- card automated single chip

processor network control ceramics agriculture

valve greenhouse for crop structure tillage solid herbicide production production fertilizer planning planter environmental growth controlling system regulator sprayer liquid fertilizer harvester field cultivation information spray fungicide processing organic machinery fertilizer indoor conveying insecticide market system information

farm machinery fertilizer agrichemical information greenhouse industry industry industry industry management

Fig. 2 Technology-chain for automated agriculture in Taiwan (Lu, 2001)